Battery cell



C. K. BAMBER BATTERY CELL Dec. 3, 1935.

Filed Dec. 23, 1955 Frm.

Patented Dec. 3, 1935 UNITED STATES BATTERY CELL 'Charles Kelway Bamber, London, England, assignor to Bambairtite Battery Company, Limited, London, England, a British company Application December 23,V 1933, Serial No. 703,771 In Great Britain December 23, 1932 2 Claims.

This invention relates to electric battery cells of Leclanch or like type comprising a zinc electrode and a porous pot or sack cell, these parts being arranged. in a glass jar containing an exciting liquid or electrolyte. i i

With Leclanch batteries troubles are experienced due to the water content of the electrolyte evaporating. Also where the cells are arranged in series creeping of electrolyte from one cell to .another takes place. With a View to avoiding these troubles various proposals have been made heretofore for closing the tops of Leclanch cells by means of removable lids.

It is essential in any Leclanchcell whose jar is equipped with a. lid that the lid shall not be of a material which will be attacked either by the electrolyte or gases generated in the battery; or by insects. Further the lid must be such that it will not warp when exposed to heat.

It is also essential that the lid shall be of such material or of such a construction as to electrically insulate the terminals ofv the electrodes from one another and it is desirable that it shall not be fragile but shall be relatively strong and rigid, and such that it will 'enable'an air-tight joint to be made between it and the jar, and also between it and the terminals of the electrodes.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved lid for a battery which, whilst being relatively cheap and highly eillcient, will meet the several desirable conditions already mentioned, and avoid the disadvantages of the lids of previously proposed batteries.

It is another object of the invention to p`rovide an improved battery in which a heavy sack cell and a relatively large and heavy zinc electrode may be suspended from the lid and thus both7 serve to hold the lid down on the jar. 'I'he suspension of both sack cell and zinc electrodeV avoids the possibility Vof one or other of these elements resting on the bottom of the jar and preventing the lid contacting 'at all points with the jar at the mouth thereof.

Where in a large battery a heavy sack cell and large zinc electrode are employed the lid must be strong and rigid to carry the weight without distortion of the lid, as if distortion occurs difficulty would be experienced in rendering the joint be- 50. tween the lid and the jar air tight. Further the lid must be such that should it be dropped whenV placing it in position in the jar,y with the electrodes suspended from it, it will not break nor will contact of it with the jar break the latter. The lid according to this invention meets these requirements.

This invention is dened in the appended claims and described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which,-

Flg. 1 is a. sectional elevation of a battery hav- (Cl. 13G-169) ing a reinforced India rubber lid according to one embodiment of the invention. .g

Fig. 2 is a plan of the lid shown in Fig. 1 removed from the jar of the battery and with the electrodes removed, this 'figure also showing a 6 constructional detail hereinafter described.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view ofthe d shown in Fig. 2, the section being taken on the line A B of that figure.

Fig. 4 'is a fragmentary view in sectional eleval0 tion illustrating another embodiment of the invention, and

Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the split rubber plug shown in Fig. 1 and through which the terminal wire of the zinc electrodeI extends. 15

Referring to the drawing, I is the glass jar of the Leclanch battery shown in the drawing; 2 being the carbon electrode or sack and 3 the zinc electrode, l vis an India rubber lid which has a depending portion orllnge 5 which enters the 20 mouth of the jar I and positions the lid in relation to the jar. the marginal region of the lid resting upon the annular upper surface of the jar I The lid 4 is reinforced by a steel or other 5 appropriate metal or alloy plate 6 of a thickness sufficient to give the required rigidity, and provided on one of its diameters with two apertures l and 8, the aperturev 'I being arranged eccentrically of the lid and being the aperture through which the terminen or binding post s of the sack 3 2 extends, and the aperture 8 being disposed near the edge of the lid and being the aperture through which the terminal wire of the zincJ electrode extends. The upper surface I8 of the head'l I of 35 the sack abuts and is held against the under surface 'of the lid 4, I 2 being an abutment or nut screwed on the terminal 9 and serving, by resting on the upper surface of the lid, to suspend the sack in the jar. The nut, or. abutmentl2 is 40 screwed down so as to clamp theosurfacejlll of the head II against the-lid and make an airtight joint between these parts. I3 isa winged or buttery nut provided onvthe terminalf for use in connecting a circuitwire to the cell. The 45 zinc electrode 3 is of semi-circular or horse-shoe form in plan and partially embraces the sack 2:

but a stick or other shaped vzinc might be employed if desired. The zinc electrode 3 `has a terminal wire I4 extending upwardly from it, which wire, in the construction shown,.is covered 9 with an insulating tube I5 which conveniently is formed of India rubber. 'I'he terminal wire I4 extends through a split rubber plug I6 whichcloses the aperture 8 in the lid 4.. `A recess I6'is formed 5 in each half of the plug,.these recesses, when the half plugs are placed together, forming. a passage extending almost completely through -the plug, the passage being open at the lbottom and closed at the top bytwo relatively thin tongues IGI. The

terminal wire I4 extending throughthef plug, or

I its cover Vif employed, is tightly gripped by the tongues Ib and a secure hold is .obtainedin addition to an eiective air-tight joint. A slight clearance obtains between the walls of the recesses vIISa and the wire. Tongues, similar to the tongues Ib, may be provided at the lower end of the passage I6. The plate 6 is of a size greater than the mouth of the jar I of the battery and is entirely enclosed in India rubber which is of an appropriate degree of hardness when vulcanized. The apertures in the plate corresponding to the apertures 1 and 8 mentioned above are of a size suiiciently greater than that needed to accommodate the terminal post 9 and the split plug I6 as to enable the holes in the plate to be lined with India rubber so that no portion of the metal plate is exposed at the holes through the lid.

In order that the sheet-like portions of rubber on opposite sides of the plate 6 may be eiectively locked to the plate and to one another, the plate has holes I1 through it of a size and number such as not materially to affect its rigidity. The provision of holes such as I'I in the plate, in addi,

tion to the holes for the terminals of the electrodes, ensures that the rubber on both sides of the plate is united by the rubber which extends through such holes as well as by the rubber around the peripheral edge of the plate.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs., l and 2 a depending ange 5 is provided for the purpose of positioning the lid on the jar. This flange 5 may be reinforced by pressing downwardly from the reinforcing plate 6 an annular corrugation of a depth suiiicient to extend downinto the flange portion 5. Where it is desired that the zinc electrode shall lie as near as possible to the Wall of the jar, the depending flange 5 wouldbe omitted in the region of the aperture 8, and this aperture be provided in such a position that the lower end of the rubber plug I6 would enter the mouth of the jar close to the inner periphery of the wall of the jar.

In most cases these jars have a circular mouth,

but a. lid according to the present invention may equally well be employed with a jar having a square or other shape of mouth.

A battery lid according to this invention is such that, without the employment of a gasket it will make an effective air-tightjoint or seal with the upper edge or surface of the jar and also is such that no packing ring or gasket is necessary to make an air-tight joint between the lid and the terminal of the sack cell. y

Ii desired the lid may be such that a greate thickness of rubber obtains on the lower side of the reinforcing plate than obtains on its upper side. Further, if desired, the marginal region of the under side of the 1idwhich seats on the edgev of the jar may be formed of rubber which is somewhat softer than the rubber employed for the remainder of the lid. l

It will be understood that in the process of pref paring the Indiarubber employed in the 4im proved battery lid 'according to the invention fillers or other ingredients which are compounded with the raw rubberv before it is vulcanized pended from the lid `ia the principal factor inv holding the lid down on to the jar so that the India rubber of the marginal region of the lid forms an air-tight joint with the upper edge or mouth of the jar A Where the jarA is circular the invention contemplates disposing the sack cell eccentrically of the lid and employing a zincelectrode of semiecircular or horseshoe shape in plan. Such a large zinc would 'be relatively heavy, butgit is found that no difficulty is experienced in sus- 10 pending a heavy zinc by the split rubber plug I6 Y provided with gripping tongues such as Hilf'.v vThe tongues I6b ensure a secure hold on the terminal f wire I 4 and an effective air-tight joint between the plug and such wire.

The reinforcing plate 6 might be slightly 15 domed, and other lwiriations might be made in constructional details without departing from the invention.

of said lid to accommodate the terminal of the 5 carboneelectrode to be suspended from'the lid,

another and larger aperture through the lid adjacent the marginal region of the plate, the apertures through the pla having their walls lined with India rubber, a tapered and split rubber plug 3- closing said larger aperture, co-operating recesses in the halves of ,the said plug forming a passage through the greater part of the length of the plug to accommodate with clearance the terminal wire of the zinc electrode, thin rubber 35 tongue portions at an end of the passage to close the latter and by gripping the said wire 'to' support the zinc electrode, and depending means integral with the rubber of the lid adapted to enter the mouth of the jar and position the lid on the jar.

2. In a battery, the combination of a glass jar to contain electrolyte, a plane annular surface at the top ofl said jar, a lid formed of a rigid metal plate of a size greater than the mouth of said jar 45 `and enclosed in India rubber, a. carbon electrode having a terminal post, an aperture through the central region of said lid through which said terminalpost extends, meansV on said terminal post bearing on said lid to suspend said electrode, an- 5 other and larger aperture through the lid ad-Y jacent thevmarginal region of the plate, the apertures through the plate having their walls lined with India. rubber, a zinc electrode having a ter- I minal-wire, a tapered and` split rubber plug clos- 55` ing said larger aperture, cofoperating recesses in the halves of the said plug forming al passage through thegreater part of the length of the plug, said terminal wire extending with clearance through said passage, thin rubber tongue por- 60 tions at an end of the passage closing the latter and gripping the said wire, thereby suspending the zinc electrode, depending means integral with the rubber of the lid adapted to enter the mouth of the jar and position the lid on the jar, and a 55 plurality of holes through the metal plate filled withV rubber integral with the rubber at' either side of the plate and not aecting materially the rigidity of the plate,'the marginal portion 'of the v lid being held only by the weight of the parts in 7'0 air-tight contact with said annular surface.

CHARLES KELWAY BAMBER. 

